The workman's handtruck is omni-present in today's industrial, cargo-handling environment. The handtruck is a two-wheeled, manually propelled carrier for large boxes and other industrial items which allow the weight of the articles to be lifted and moved easily between locations. The primary component of a handtruck is a support frame, which stands vertical at rest, and includes two side rails. The frame carries a pair of axle-mounted wheels at the bottom, where a toe plate extends horizontally forward. Handles extend from the top of each side rail. In use, articles are stacked on the toe plate and the frame is rocked backwards, tilting on the wheels so that the articles rest against the frame as they are wheeled between locations.
While a small number of large objects can be easily stacked and balanced on the toe plate, a standard handtruck is very difficult to use when handling a large number of small packages or a plurality of elongate items, such as pipes or tubing which cannot be laterally contained from falling off the sides of the handtruck. In order to secure carried articles, handtrucks have employed horizontal straps which wrap around the front of the handtruck. Handtrucks having fixed, rigid sides have also been used to contain articles laterally.
The closest patent art of which the applicant is aware includes U.S. Pat. No. 1,716,611 issued to L. E. Wilson on Jun. 11, 1929. This patent shows a detachable carrier for a handtruck which includes a caged body having hinged side pieces. U.S. Pat. No. 3,436,093 issued to M. F. Ruffley, Jr. on Apr. 1, 1969 shows the use of a specialty handtruck attachment for carrying cylindrical containers. This container-handling attachment is secured to the back of the handtruck by a bracket which hooks over a horizontally-extending brace between vertical frame members.
The prior art device as described above, however, do not provide an efficient means for providing a universal attachment for a standard handtruck which may be used to carry many different types of articles that would otherwise be difficult to transport. It is therefore the primary object of the present invention to provide an accessory for a handtruck which is easily attached and that facilitates transporting a large number of small articles or items which are irregularly shaped.